


The Crescent and the Cross

by JackGold



Category: Kingdom of Heaven (2005), The Third Crusade
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-17
Updated: 2019-09-30
Packaged: 2020-05-13 14:41:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19253257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JackGold/pseuds/JackGold
Summary: This tale in between the Kingdom of Heaven and the Third Crusade, tells about how a Muslim Soldier and a Crusader Templar, despite their different religion and ongoing war, befriended one another





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

  * For [givemewienerschnitzel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/givemewienerschnitzel/gifts).



> Disclaimer: The main two protagonists of this story are entirely fictional
> 
> Credits goes to the movie Kingdom of Heaven and to the user givemewienerschnitzel for allowing me the use of the following characters, Ravenna de Neapolim, Alisa and Jeanne de Lavallee

**_Early summer of 1174, November 26_**  
  
Yusuf ibn Ayub, better known as Saladin, had successfully conquered Damascus from it's emir, Gumushtigin, Saladin entered the Citadel of Damascus to find it's inhabitants and it's soldiers welcoming and cheering him from it's low streets to it's high buildings and houses, he trotted with his horse across the citadel until he became the center of it's people, and with a loud voice, he spoke to them.  
  
"Hear me, people of Damascus! In the name of Allah, the most gracious, the most merciful! Forgive me that I have entered your city by force, but now that it is done, I do not wish for any further blood to be spilled, not from me, nor from you, rejoice and know, that I will not exile any of you out of their home, all of you will be treated with fairness and justice, and you all know me to be a man of his words, however, I only wish to unite all of Islamic states and people under one banner, that is the banner of Islam, to fight the oppression and the injustice of the disbelievers and heretics, and to reconquer Jerusalem from it's Christian hands and back to the Islamic hands, God most high said: ((Hold fast, all of you, to the rope of God and do not become divided)), join your brothers in the struggle against the enemies of the Almighty God as one man, be welcomed to Him in the afterlife as martyrs,  and he shall reward you with a forever life in paradise! I myself, shall raise my sword and strike it unto the bodies of the disbelievers, who among you shall join me?!".  
  
With the powerful speech ended, many and various people of all sorts, whether villagers or soldiers, raced with any weapons and arms they can carry, came in thousands to Saladin's army, one of whom, was a man called Islam ibn Abdullah of Damascus, who overheard the speech from his window at his home, when he saw people from the city rushing with their weapons and armor ready, he too was inspired to fight with hi fellows brothers, he grabbed a chest from under his bed and opened it, inside, was a scimitar, shield and armor that belonged to his father, whom was a commander in the Zengid army.  
  
When Islam stepped out of his house, bearing his father's armor, sword and shield, he went to the stable which was near his house, untied his father's war horse, and rode to Saladin, galloping through the streets, he saw Saladin among many volunteers, welcoming each and every one of them unto his army "Saladin! Saladin!" He called, to which Saladin noticed the man in armor riding his horse, coming to him.  
  
Islam dismounted from his horse and stood in front of Saladin "Peace be upon you, Saladin, my name is Islam ibn Abdullah of Damascus, I have come to join your army to fight the Christians, may my sword serve you and all Muslims righteously" Said Islam with a confident voice.  
  
Saladin couldn't tell what did he like about this man, was it his determination that he saw in his eyes? Or was it his eagerness to offer his services to him even if it meant sacrificing himself? All in all, he was more than happy to allow this strong and worthy man to fight in his army, he dismounted from his horse as well and faced Islam, placing his hand over his shoulder "Then from this day on, you shall be known as Islam of Damascus, the sword of righteousness" He smiled, climbed atop his horse and called his army to move out.  
  
Islam climbed his horse too and followed Saladin's army outside of the citadel, on his way, he heard familiar voices calling his name "Islam? Islam is that you?!".  
  
Islam turned to the direction of where he heard the voices and quickly recognized the faces he saw "My friends" He galloped across the ranks of the army to his ten friends "I see you have also joined Saladin's army" He said.  
  
"Yes, you are not the only one who knows how to handle a weapon, remember, we were all soldiers once" Said one of Islam's friends.  
  
"Even though we are not skilled or experienced as the rest of Saladin's army, we will become so in the future, god-willing" said another.  
  
"My brothers, this is the beginning of our time, it is time to show the world the power of God and his followers, together, we will strike forth as one and die as one if needs be" Islam and his friends talked with each other throughout their journey along with Saladin's army.  
  
**Meanwhile**  
  
Two Templar knights, Christopher and his younger brother, Robert of St, Albans, have completed the ceremony of becoming crusaders and were on a ship on the Mediterranean sea carrying many knights that sailed to Jerusalem.  
  
"This is it Robert, we will be arriving in Acre soon" Said Christopher, to his un-paying attention brother that was looking at the sea, Christopher noticed this and went next to him "What troubles you, Robert?" He asked.  
  
Sighed Robert "Why did you have to suggest that we become Crusaders, was it necessary?" Said his doubtful young brother.  
  
"Come now Robert, we both are knights of the Temple, it is crucial for us to become Crusaders, it is a way for our sins to be erased for good and defend our fellow Christians from whatever evil there is in the world, the Almighty Lord has ordered us to go to Jerusalem and defend his holy city from the Saracen infidels, would you disobey a direct order from our Lord, Jesus?" Asked Christopher, raising his eyebrow.  
  
"I dare not, but, I was never a fighting man, even as a knight, I'd rather protect and defend rather than go out and fight" Replied Robert.  
  
"Then protect your fellow Christians from the harm of the Devil, defend the holy city of Jerusalem which our Lord was crucified, do this, and you are assured a path to Heaven" Said his encouraging older brother.  
  
"What nonsense! You two won't be standing alive within a year in Jerusalem!" Said an arrogant voice behind them, which it's owner was a French Noble Crusader named Roland of St. Denis "It's no wonder why Jerusalem needs reinforcements, since it's only active army are made of incompetent fools that know nothing of warfare" He continued.  
  
"Oh, and do you think you are capable of defending Jerusalem?!" Asked Christopher.  
  
"Hah! I can defend the Holy City all by myself without the need of an army, for I have the sword Durandal, and the armor of Roland, that is blessed by angels" Roland unsheathed his sword and swung it to show it's swiftness "What a waste it is to send these pathetic weaklings to Jerusalem, don't they know that I am enough to protect it?" Roland spoke in a mocking manner.  
  
Christopher's fist clenched upon hearing Roland's arrogance that angered him, and he would like nothing more than to beat him, but remembered that this would come with a later and serious consequence, he calmed his anger and spoke up.  
  
"Enough Roland, have you forgotten we are all Christians? It is bad luck and sinful to be fighting amongst ourselves when we should be fighting together, we are all the soldiers of God, not just you" He said "Hmph!" Huffed Roland and left.  
  
"Pay no attention to him, Robert, his cocky behaviour will be the end of him" Said Christopher, turning to Robert.  
  
"What if he's right though? We aren't strong or great soldiers, only men, weak men with no power" Said Robert.  
  
"Robert! Do not dare say such a word, I will not have it that the brother of Christopher, a knight of St. Albans would be seen as weak!" Said Christopher, then took out an amulet which had two Templar knights riding together "See this? Those two knights are us, we are the very symbol of the Knights Templar, we wear the armor of God, the shield of faith, and the sword of the spirit which is the word of God himself, for that, as long as we both do not stray from his path, he shall always give us strength and courage to defeat his enemies" Said Christopher, once more encouraging his brother.  
  
Robert after that had his doubtfulness swept away by Christopher's moving words "You're right brother, forgive me, I know not what came over me that made me speak such words, it was weak of me to doubt that the Lord will forsaken us, thank you" Said Robert, smiling.  
  
Christopher placed his arm around Robert "Fear not, God will never leave you, and nor will I, we shall live and fight together as true brothers, protecting Jerusalem to even our last breath, so long as we not stray off his path, He is with us, that I promise you" Said Christopher, with that, they spent the rest of the journey to Jerusalem together with their fellow knights.


	2. Arrival at Jerusalem

On the roads of England, a group of ten people from a nearby village were making their way to the St. Albans Abbey Church to pray, but on their way, they were intercepted by a band of thieves and raiders on horses who surrounded them, the people had nothing but walking sticks so they couldn't defend themselves much from them.  
  
"Well well well, what have we here? And just where are you lot off to?" Asked the bandit leader.  
  
"To St. Abbey Church sir, to pray to our Savior the Lord" Said one traveler.  
  
"Ah, of course, the day where the Lord's fellow worshipers go to worship him, as a fellow Christian I shall let you pass" Said the bandit leader.  
  
"Thank you, sire" Said another traveler.  
  
"That is, if you pay a tax for passing through our land, if you do, then I shall allow you to pass" Said the bandit leader, smirking.  
  
"But we have no gold sir, we are mere poor peasants and we have spent all our valuables on this journey" Said a woman.  
  
"Pity, I suppose instead of your gold, we'll take and sell you as slaves, that should be enough to suffice" Said the bandit leader, then pointed to two young women hiding behind an elder man "And maybe, we shall keep those two, my men are in need of a woman's love" He said, while the bandits behind him chortled.  
  
"You will not have my daughters, now get out of our way and let us pass you vile fiend!" Stepped up the old man, the bandit leader kicked him in the face which sent the old man to the ground "Father!" Screamed one girl, as she and her sister went to their father "Don't worry, my ladies, you're father is not dead yet, unless he tries something like that again, take them!" Ordered the bandit leader, his men went to tie the villagers with ropes.  
  
Just at that moment, an echoing voice was heard from the foggy forest near them "Stop!" And from it, came a helmed knights Templar riding one a white horse towards the peasants and the bandits, from afar, he looked like a ghost coming from another world which frightened the bandits, but not their leader.  
  
"Leave these people be and be on your way" Said the Templar in an intimidating tone.  
  
"Why should I? I am only demanding a tax fro passing through my land" Said the bandit leader.  
  
"This is not your land, this land belongs to god and his children, I say again, let these people go or you shall be punished" Said the Templar.  
  
"Oh, and who will punish us?" Said the bandit leader sarcastically.  
  
"God and I" Said the Templar, unsheathing his bastard sword and readied his heater shield.  
  
"Ha! we shall see about who will punish and who will be punished, you three, kill and loot him" Ordered the bandit leader, then three bandits charged with their horses at the Templar.  
  
"Then you have brought this on yourselves" Said the Templar, who stood his ground, waiting for the bandits to come to him, the first one came at his raising his axe at him, the Templar blocked his weapon with his shield and plunged his sword deep to his stomach, the man fell from his horse dead, then came the other two with a short sword and a mace from both his sides, they began attacking one after the other, but were parried by the Templar's sword and shield, finally slaying them by stabbing on the left man's chest, and slashing the right man's neck.  
  
The bandits took a step back from this shocking scene, as three of their band had died from one man, the Templar raised and pointed his bloodied sword at them "My final warning to you, let the people go and the Lord will forgive you or continue your sinful act and the Lord will punish you" Said the Templar.  
  
"You bastard! Kill him!" The two remaining bandits loosened their arrows at him, and the Templar charged with his shield up, blocking the arrows, he rode to their left side, maneuvering them, which sent the arrow from a bandit's bow to the other bandit's back head by accident, once that happened, the Templar threw his sword to the last bandit's chest, the force of the sword that landed on his body threw him off miles away from the horse to the ground, the Templar rode and picked up his sword from the dead bandit and turned to face their leader, whom he found grabbing a young woman by the hair and had a knife to her throat.  
  
"Take one more step and she dies, I swear I will kill her!" Ranted the bandit leader, making the young woman cry and scream for help, pleading to the bandit leader not to kill her "You coward...let her go and face me like a man!" Said the Templar.  
  
Suddenly, an arrow flew from within the forest to the bandit leader's neck, it had struck deeply to it the the other end of the arrow came out, the young girl ran to her father and sister, still shaking from what she had experienced, and thus the bandits and their leader had died and the villagers saved by the Templar. but who was it that killed the leader of the bandits?.  
  
From the forest, came another knights Templar, only this one was a bit more muscled and bigger than the other Templar, riding on his large, black horse, carrying his longbow "There you are Robert, how many times must I remind you to not wander off from me while we're in the forest, it is huge and you can get easily lost" He said.  
  
"I had to Christopher, my duty was calling me to defend these innocent people, if God hadn't sent for me I would have been too late to save them" Said Robert, pointed to the villagers and dead bandits lying on the ground.  
  
"Thank you our saviors, may the Lord bless you both, our lives are indebted to you" Said the old man, the peasants bowed and knelt to them.  
  
"it was our pleasure to be of service and help, go now, for you are safe" With that, the villagers marched on for the church.  
  
"Now that that is done, I believe we should be on our way as well" Said Christopher.  
  
"Not just yet, I wish to bury these men, that should give them a bit of peace before they face God's judgement" Said Robert, sheathing his sword.  
  
"Very well then, we'll bury them together, although I won't do it for these villains, but I won't be leaving you out of my sight again" Said Christopher, placing his longbow on his back and getting off from his horse.  
  
As Robert was about to dismount, he felt a great pain coming from his lower-right stomach that mage him groan, apparently an arrow had pierced it while he was fighting the bandits, the blood kept coming out of his body that made him weak and dizzy, he fell from his horse with a thud.  
  
"Robert? Robert? Oh no...Robert!" Christopher noticed his younger brother falling from his horse, he quickly got off his and went next to Robert "Robert! Robert, are you all right Brother, Robert!" Christopher kept calling for his dying brother and pressed on his injury, but that did not stop Robert from closing his eyes, much to Christopher shock.  
  
Hours later, Robert found himself in some kind of a sanctuary, it was dark but the candles that were lit made the place brighter, he tried to sit up and still felt pain from his wound, but he had found that it had been wrapped in bandages.  
  
"Praise be the Lord, you have awoken" Said Christopher, who was sitting next to him.  
  
"Where am I?" Robert asked.  
  
"It's the place where you and I call home, St. Albans church, it was the closest place I can go to quickly before you died of blood loss, but thankfully, I have not" He said.  
  
Robert looked to his brother and smiled "Thank you brother, I owe you a great debt, you have saved my life" he said.  
  
"Thank me not, but thank Him" Said Christopher, pointing to a statue of Jesus on a shelf "For he was the one who gave you strength to endure your pain and who guided me to find our home your soul was taken away".  
  
Moments later, an old priest came in, holding what appears to be two chalices containing water "How do you fare, my sons?" He asked.  
  
"A tad sore, but I think I shall live" Said Robert.  
  
"Here you are my sons, I have poured Holy Water into these goblets, along with my prayers, for the brave deed you have done today, may the Lord reward you greatly for it" Said the priest, smiling.  
  
Christopher and Robert took the cups and drank it whole, when Christopher finished his, he noticed the priest's uneasy demeanor "What is the matter, father? You seem troubled" He said.  
  
The priest hesitated to answer but he replied Christopher with "Only slightly, my son".  
  
"What is it, father?" Asked Robert.  
  
The priest went back and forth with his hands behind his back while looking down, he finally turned to the two knights and spoke "My sons, I fear you will have depart first time tomorrow".  
  
"From St. Albans?" Asked Christopher.  
  
"...From England" Corrected the priest.  
  
"From England? But to where, and why?" Asked Robert, shocked.  
  
"Jerusalem, there have been orders from the king himself to gather as many knights from all the Christian states at the shortest time possible, for King Baldwin fears that there will come a time where the Saracen king, Saladin, will try and conquer the Holy City, and you two are the best knights I can offer" Said the priest.  
  
"You'd have us leave home to a place which we may never come back from?" Asked Robert.  
  
"I know what I ask of you is extremely dangerous, it grieves me to see you leave home as well, but there is nothing I could do, 'tis God's will and command, and his commands should never be disobeyed" Answered the priest.  
  
Both knights looked to each other questioningly and thought about it for a brief moment, then Christopher looked to the priest with stern eyes "Will God award us for it?" He asked.  
  
"Yes, He shall erase all of the sins you have committed in your past life, and replace it with many rewards and more" Said the priest.  
  
Christopher faced his younger brother, nodded to him, then turned to the priest "We will do it" Said Christopher in his strong, determined voice.  
  
"I am glad to hear it, then I shall be off to prepare you from tomorrow's journey" Said the priest, placing his hands on both knights, smiling, then left the room.  
  
For Christopher, he was more enthusiastic about going to the Holy City and defending it from the Saracens more than any knight in England, he was ready to die for his God and for other Christians like himself, so was Robert, but the thought of not coming home to England made him afraid.  
  
"Must it be us that go to Jerusalem? Surely there are more knights worthy of such a mission than us, besides if we go, who will protect our home and it's people here?" Said Robert.  
  
Christopher placed his hand on Robert's shoulder and looked unto his eyes strictly "Now listen to me, brother, we are knights and children of the Lord Christ, if he commands that we die for him, we die for him without hesitation, if he commands us to go to Jerusalem, we got to Jerusalem, after all, what is the point of having such strength and skill if it's not used for good? Many innocents are in Jerusalem are under threat from the Saracens that will try to claim it for their own, will you let them die just to save your blood from being spilled?" Asked Christopher, crossing both his arms.  
  
Robert was about to answer with yes, but he knew such an answer would bring disappointment on him and would be seen a coward, which a knight should be brave instead, he looked down at first then raised his head to Christopher and spoke in a bold tone "No".   
  
"Then it is settled, you know what father said, his command must never be disobeyed, do not think about how many lives you can save here in England, but think of how many lives you will save in Jerusalem" Said Christopher, he patted Robert's shoulder and stood up "I shall leave you now to rest, we will be having a long journey ahead of us" Said Christopher, he smiled and closed the door behind him, leaving Robert alone in the room.  
  
Robert laid his head on his bed and thought long and hard about Jerusalem, he does not wish to leave his home and his people, but his brother was the only family he had and his most prized possession, what would happen if he stayed here while his brother was away to a place he could die at any moment? Such thoughts clouded his mind, but that one was the most one he kept wondering about, after nearly half an hour of thinking, he finally decided to leave those matters to God and fell asleep.  
  
At dawn, Christopher and Robert prepared their belongings for their journey to Jerusalem, coming out of the church was the priest, he came with one of his pupils, bearing a heavy armor, a heater shield. and a Greatsword with him "My sons" He called to Christopher and Robert.  
  
"Father" Christopher and Robert knelt to the priest.  
  
"Before you leave, I want to give you these gifts, to you Christopher I give you this" The pupil gave Christopher the heavy armor, the heater shield and the Greatsword "These are the Armor of God, the Shield of Faith, and the Sword of the Spirit that a strong knight and devoted Templar such as yourself is worth deserving, they are the blessed instruments of war which will grant you divine protection from all threats and danger, and to strengthen your strikes on the enemies of God, use it righteously and justly, my son" Said the priest.  
  
"I will, father" He kissed the priest's ring.  
  
"As for you Robert, given the gift of wisdom and mind, I grant you this" Robert was given a book that was filled with information of battle strategies and war plans.  
  
"Thank you father, I shall put it to good use" Said Robert.  
  
Christopher and Robert bowed to the priest and went on their way, but were soon stopped by the priest "Oh my sons, forgive me, I have forgotten one more gift" He said, Both knights turned to the priest, who took a box from his pupil and took the gift from it, the priest placed a necklace with an amulet that has the seal of two knights riding on a single horse on Robert's neck that has the words SIGILUM MILITUM engraved on it "Let this seal be the symbol of your brotherly bond, you will find the same symbol on your sword, Christopher" Said the priest, to which Christopher noticed the same seal was shown on the pommel of his sword.  
  
"May it never be broken nor lost, and may you stay together as one all years to come, keep it safe with you my sons, as you would your own lives" Said the priest.  
  
"Yes father" Said Robert.  
  
"Then the time has come, may the lord bless thee, guide thee, and protect thee throughout your journey until your return" Said the priest, performing the cross sign on both the knights head, shoulders and chest, smiling, with that, they left St. Albans and went to France to aboard a ship sailing for Jerusalem.  
  
That was the memory of which Robert had thought about while on his voyage to Jerusalem, looking at the see from the yop deck "Robert, come, we have arrived" Called his brother.  
  
**At the port of Acre**  
  
The ship docked at the famous port of Acre, the city was full of life, known for it's many markets and merchants, which had amazed the eyes of both Christopher and Robert, both knights got off the ship and into the city they went.  
  
"Now, where is it that we are supposed to be headed, brother Christopher?" Asked Robert.  
  
"Let us see..." Christopher took out a scroll from his belt and opened it "It says here, that we are to go meet a man by the name of Rohard de Neapolim, who is waiting for us in Al-Aqsa, he will be our commanding officer in Jerusalem" Said Christopher.  
  
"Then let us waste no time and be off" Suggested Robert.  
  
The first hour had passed since they had stepped out of the city on foot, they were soon met by two other knights "Peace be with you brothers!" Said one knight.  
  
"Peace be with you as well" Replied Christopher.  
  
"Where is it that you are going?" Asked the other knight.  
  
"To Jerusalem" Answered Robert.  
  
"We also have thought so, which is why we have brought you these horses, it is a long way from here to the Holy City" Said the knight who handed the ropes of the horses to both Christopher and Robert.  
  
Both knights mounted their new horses "You have our utmost gratitude, brothers, and we shall repay you this kind debt one day soon" Said Robert.  
  
"No need, consider it a gift, after all, we are all God's children and servants, therefore we must help each other" Said one of the two knights.  
  
"Well said, brother, allow me to introduce ourselves, I am Christopher of St. Albans from England, this is Robert of St. Albans, my younger brother" Said Christopher, which Robert raised his hand in salutation "Hail". he greeted the two knights.  
  
"I am Johan Hohenstaufen of Swabia, an honor to meet you brothers" Said the man bearing the coat of arms of the Hohenstaufen family.  
  
"And I am Lorenzo de Hauteville of Sicily, I am also honored to meet you" Said the other, with the coat of arms of the Hauteville family.  
  
"Wait...I remember you, you were both with us on that ship that has sailed here" Said Robert, recognizing the two knights.  
  
"That is correct, we were about to introduce ourselves to you on the ship, when that arrogant man came and what happened happened" Said Lorenzo.  
  
"If only he knew that this was personality was from the devil..." Said Robert.  
  
"Nevermind that, what's important is that we won't follow his example" Said Johan.  
  
After hours of traveling with their new friends, Christopher, Johan, Robert and Lorenzo have finally arrived at the Holy City of Jerusalem, it was vast and huge, the largest they ever seen, they also have seen many sights, they were to go to Al-Aqsa, the headquarters of the Knights Templar, where Christopher and Robert would be stationed.  
  
"And at last, the Holy City, it is more majestic than I ever dreamed of" Said Christopher.  
  
"I must admit Christopher, I do not regret the choice I made of coming with you here, it is quite beautiful" Said Robert, looking around at Jerusalem.   
  
"I suppose this is where we leave you brothers" Said Johan.  
  
"Yes, I believe so, but we shall not forget kind act, and we are still obliged to repay it" Said Robert.  
  
"Not to worry though, this won't be the last time we meet" Said Lorenzo, smiling.  
  
"I shall pray to the Lord that it won't" Said Christopher, with that, the four knights embraced each other and went on their separate ways, Christopher and Robert took both their horses and tied it near, then entered the Dome of the Rock where they would meet their commander, inside, they found a man swinging his Longsword left and right swiftly "Peace be with you, Brother" Said Robert to the man.  
  
"What do you want?" Said the man without looking back at the two knights nor did that stop his training.  
  
"We are looking for a man by the name of Rohard de Neapolim, our commander in Jerusalem" Said Christopher.  
  
When those words were spoken, the man stopped and turned to the two knights sternly, he revealed to be a man in his late or early forty's with a brown beard and short-flowing hair, he resheathed his sword, took a towel from a nearby table and wiped his sweat "In the future, you all address me as Lord Rohard De Neapolim, state your business" He said.  
  
"Lord Rohard, we are Christopher and Robert of St. Albans from England, we have come by order of King Baldwin, long may he reign, that you will be our commanding officer during our time in Jerusalem" Explained Christopher.  
  
"Are you now? You, come" Called Rohard for Robert to approach "You are Robert?" He asked.  
  
"Yes my lord" Answered Robert.  
  
"...Take out your sword" Said Rohard, unsheathing his sword once more.  
  
Robert looked to Christopher questioningly, to which Christopher shrugged, Robert unsheathed his bastard-sword and faced Rohard, without any warning, Rohard came swinging his sword violently at Robert, Since he was taken by surprise, Robert blocked and dodged the attacks as best as he could while he took a few steps back, Rohard gave no chance whatsoever to Robert, who was trying to anticipate his attacks but failed to do so in the last attack that nearly took Robert's head, he dodged the attack and fell to the ground, panting to catch his breath.  
  
"Hmph, as expected from men who don't know how to handle a sword from a sudden attack" Stated Rohard cruelly, Robert was still on the ground while looking down "You, come" Then Rohard called for Christopher to approach.  
  
"As you wish, my lord..." Christopher was never one to forgive those who cause harm or to look down on his brother, Christopher took out his Greatsword and gripped it tightly, Rohard came at the same tactic he used on Robert, but Christopher was ready, the two clashed their swords fiercely while Robert watched, each time Rohard tried to step forward while attacking, Christopher parried while standing his ground, not even moving one inch backwards, since Christopher was a large and powerful man, he was able to wield the Greatsword with one hand without much effort, after a few moments, Christopher managed to disarm Rohard's Longsword and placed his Greatsword on Rohard's throat.  
  
Rohard crossed both his arms and nodded "You will have some uses I suppose" Said Rohard but not looking impressed nor surprised, unlike Robert, Christopher unsheathed his sword and gave Rohard his from the ground "Your sword, my lord" To which Rohard took it and plunged it to it's scabbard "That is enough for today, tomorrow you shall continue with the rest of the other knights, go from here to the first building on your right, that is where you will stay, dismissed" Said Rohard.  
  
Both Christopher and Robert bowed to Rohard and exited Al-Aqsa, they went to the place where Rohard instructed them to go, Christopher knocked on the door and was soon opened by an Arabian man, in which he spoke in his own language "Welcome sirs, welcome to your home, please come in, come in!" He said.  
  
Both knights looked to each other and shrugged at what he said, but entered altogether, the man led them to a room which was enough for both Christopher and Robert to stay in, after bowing, the man walked out of the room and closed the door.  
  
"Well, I guess we better get used to calling this place our home" Said Christopher.  
  
"Maybe I should take the bed Christopher, I don't think it will take your mountain of a body" Said Robert, chuckling.  
  
"As you wish, dear brother" Said Christopher, also chuckling.  
  
After that, the man came in holding a plate of food and water "If you need anything else sirs, I am at your service!" Said the Arabian man once again in his mother-tongue, then exited the room.  
  
"I suppose we ought to learn his language soon if we are to understand him" Said Robert.  
  
"I am sure we will soon enough, but let us not dawdle on that as of now, we had better gather our strength from our long, tiring journey" Said Christopher, sitting to eat his and Robert's food.  
  
"Brother, tell me, what do you make of Lord Rohard de Neapolim?" Asked Robert.  
  
"Like most nobles are, corrupted by power so much, their ego blinded them from the world" Said Christopher.  
  
"At least he knows how to fight, unlike myself..." Said Robert, looking down.  
  
Christopher was going to take a sip from his cup, but stopped when he heard Robert, he came down with the cup strongly "Robert, I will not hear more from your doubtfulness, you are a knights Templar and a capable one, it does not matter how people see you, it's how He sees you" Said Christopher, looking up "And besides, do I need to remind you how you once took on a brigand of bandits all by yourself?".  
  
"Yes, the time where I almost died from an arrow if you hadn't saved me" Said Robert.  
  
"And I will keep saving you from danger Robert, but I will also need you to be strong, here and here" Said Christopher, pointing to his heart and mind "Remember, brawns only doesn't make a knights Templar, but also his soul and spirit, also remember what father told  us one, if I am to be the brawns, then you are to be the brains" He said, smiling to Robert.  
  
"Oh Christopher, what would I do without you?" Said Robert, smiling wider than his brother.  
  
"I know" He replied, and the pair continued their food while chatting together


	3. First battle

**The next day  
  
**Christopher and Robert went to Al-Aqsa to begin their today's training. but on their way out of their new home, they were met by two young boys who were caring for their horses, both boys knelt to the two knights when they saw them.  
  
"Rise, lads" Said Christopher, and they did "And who might you be?" He asked.  
  
"We're your squires, sire" Spoke the tall but slender short-black haired boy I am George and this is Justin" Introduced George, with the brown-haired boy bowing.  
  
"And who sent you to be our squires?" Asked Robert.  
  
"Father Patrick, my lord" Said Justin, both Christopher and Robert looked to each other with wide eyes, amazed "Father..." Said both knights at the same time, who was the same father that sent Christopher and Robert to Jerusalem.  
  
"Well, at least we don't have to learn Arabian to understand them" Said Robert, they made their to the Dome of the Rock, with their squires behind them, which didn't take long for them to arrive "Wait here" Said Christopher to George and Justin, they nodded.  
  
Christopher and Robert entered the Al-Aqsa to find another man besides Rohard de Neapolim facing twenty-eight lined Templar knights "Today, we begin our training" Spoke the man "I am Charles de Bayle , your commanding officer, and I will be responsible for your training from here on out" While he spoke, Christopher and Robert quickly rushed to join the others in line without Charles noticing them "As of now, each two knights will face each other, attempting to defeat their opponent, don't think of them as your brothers in arms, think of them as Saracens who want you dead, begin!" With that, every two knights started their training together, leaving only Christopher and Robert on their own.  
  
"I suppose that we will be training together brother" Said Christopher, smiling.  
  
"What luck! Our brothers are facing their equals and I get to fight the strongest of them all" Said Robert, putting on his helmet unsheathing his bastard-sword and gripping it with both hands.  
  
"Hah! Then let us see how you fare with the strongest of them all" Smirked Christopher, also putting on his helmet and taking out his great-sword, pointing it at Robert "Worry not though, I won't be so hard fighting you" He said.  
  
"Pity, I will" Said Robert, both took turns in walking in circles around each other, coming to a stop moments later, Christopher raised his sword and came down slashing at his younger brother, to which Robert blocked Christopher's attack, the blade was slowly coming down on Robert's helmet, but pushed his much stronger brother back, then both engaged in a hard clash, Christopher was strong and hard with his attacks and swings, but Robert was fast with his parries and dodges, there seemed to be no winner from both of them.  
  
After a while, both brothers walked in circles once more "Heh, you fight well brother, I am glad that you remembered what I taught you" Said Christopher.  
  
"What you have taught me is only a portion of what I can do Christopher" Said Robert, grinning, and again, both proceeded their sibling duel, all of the knights have completed their training except those two, some even watched who would win from both brothers, including Charles, but none seemed to be gaining on one another, that is until Christopher gripped his great-sword with both hands and came with a powerful swing, to which Robert reacted by dodging the attack, gripping his bastard-sword by the blade, and attempted to use the crossguard to knock Christopher to the ground, pulling his leg, Christopher came down with a thud, and before he can get up, he found his younger brother's sword pointed at him.  
  
"I win" Said Robert, smiling, Christopher smiled back while he was on the ground "Well done Robert, you managed to defeat your older brother" Said Christopher.  
  
"I would be much happier if I defeated his enemies instead" Said Robert, helping Christopher up, then, they heard a clap coming near them, whom was Charles approaching both knights to which they bowed to him.  
  
"Such a magnificent display from both of you, well done, well done indeed" Said Charles.  
  
"Thank you my lord, but that was merely nothing, we usually train just like that daily" Said Robert.  
  
"Do not call me lord, we are all brothers here and soldiers of the Temple, I am Charles de Bayle, a pleasure, brothers" He said, bowing.  
  
"And both knights bowed back "We are Christopher and Robert of St. Albans, the pleasure is all ours" Said Christopher.  
  
"Oh, you are the new recruits then" Said Charles.  
  
"That we are, but how did you know?" Asked Robert, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"No matter, the Grand Master would like to meet you both as soon as possible, come, follow me" With that, Christopher and Robert followed Charles until they reached the office of the Grand Master, opening the door for them, they entered and found an old man with grey hair and beard, writing documents on his desk, Odo of St. Amand "Grand Master Odo, I have brought you the new recruits as you requested" Said Charles, the old man raised his head to see Christopher, Robert and Charles standing "Thank you brother Charles, that will be for now" He said, Charles bowed and left the room. the old man rose from his desk and went face to face with the knight brothers.  
  
Christopher and Robert knelt to him "Grand Master" He said.  
  
"Rise, brothers" Said the Grand Master, rose Christopher and Robert and took off their helms "Welcome, to your new home in Jerusalem, I trust that you found a comfortable accommodation" Said Odo.  
  
"Thank you Grand Master, but might I ask, where is lord Rohard de Neapolim, weren't we to be posted under his command?" Asked Robert.  
  
"Lord Neapolim is a man of our religion, but alas, he...lacks faith, and without faith, you are lost, like the man of no direction, though he does test the skills of other knights before they can join us but that is not the reason why I have brought you here, I simply wanted to see the new knights who would join our cause for myself" Said Odo, putting both his hands behind him "Allow me to ask you this, if there comes a time where you must abandon your faith for your life, would you do it?" He asked.  
  
"Never Grand Master, for our religion is worth much more than our souls, and we would gladly sacrifice ourselves for it to thrive and grow" Said Christopher.  
  
Nodded Odo "And if God commanded it, would you kill a Christian if he has sinned a great sin?" Asked Odo once more.  
  
"If it is God's will, then I will slay him without a moment's hesitation" Said Christopher.  
  
Odo nodded again "And lastly, would you lay down your arms and surrender if your enemy was much stronger than you?".  
  
With each time Robert tried to answer, Christopher quickly spoke before he can "No, for whatever strength in numbers or quality they have, I have the Lord God on my side, and I am certain he will not forsaken me in my battles, and I do speak for my brother in this matter as well" Said Christopher with all boldness.  
  
Odo took a moment and looked to Robert for his response, Robert said nothing but he nodded in approving of Christian's responses, Odo smiled widely "Then you may consider yourselves once you step out the door as true knights of the Temple, for you have passed the test, well said brothers, truly well said" He said, placing both his hands on Christian and Robert's shoulders, then returned to his desk "Now, I would like you to go king Baldwin and tell him that you two have Odo's blessings, god be with you brothers" Said Odo.  
  
The two bowed to Odo and stepped out of the Grand Master's office, where they found Charles waiting for them by the door "So, what did you make of him?" He asked.  
  
"I can only say that, I thank the Lord that we answer to him rather than Rohard de Neapolim" Said Robert.  
  
"Where will you go now, brothers?" Asked Charles.  
  
"The Grand Master has tasked us with meeting the king, I assume he has something to say to us, but we shall see" Said Christian.  
  
"Then by all means, let me not keep you any longer, but this place shall always be open to you, my brothers, as I will always be here to teach you the ways of the sword" Said Charles, smiling.  
  
"God bless you, Charles" Said Robert, bowing with Christopher, and Charles bowed back.  
  
"Peace be with you, Christopher and Robert of St. Albans" Said Charles.  
  
"And with you, Charles de Bayle" Said Christopher, and with that, Christopher and Robert parted ways with Charles and made their way to the royal palace of king Baldwin IV of Jerusalem at the tower of David, with their squires behind them with their horses, they moved across the beautiful gardens of the city, with it's many soldiers guarding every place, when they arrived at the gate, they were stopped by two guards "Halt! What business do you have?" Said one guard.  
  
"We come from Odo, Grand Master of the knights Temple. we are here to see king Baldwin, god bless him" Said Robert, the two guards looked on to each other and then to the knights "Wait here" One guard said, entering the palace, while the other stood guard and kept eyeing both Christopher and Robert, who were admiring the structure of the tower, later, the guard came back "The king will see you now" he said, with that, they stepped inside and went to meet the king.  
  
When they arrived at the chamber of the king, they knocked on the door and entered, to find a man in a silver mask and white robes, sitting and speaking to three knights , two knights were had similar features but one seemed older than the other, between them, stood a man clad in France's coat of arms "And so your majesty, thus I end my speech of why it will be beneficial for all of us if we could have Almaric de Lusignan and his family into the royal court" Said the man standing on Amalric's left side.  
  
"I see..." Spoke the man in the silver mask "And do you trust him?" He asked.  
  
"Yes, your majesty, he is not only a friend of mine, but also, a member of my family, an honest and good man he is, I promise you" Continued the man.  
  
"Then on your word, I shall allow him into the royal court" Said Baldwin.  
  
"Thank you, your majesty" Said the man, the three bowed before the king and exited the chamber, Christopher and Robert entered after they left, and knelt to the king.   
  
"Rise, knights" Said the man in silver mask "I assume that you are new arrivals to the Holy City".  
  
"Yes, your majesty, and it is such a majestic and amazing land, I will pray to God that you will remain it's ruler for a very long time" Said Christopher.  
  
Baldwin chuckled behind his mask "I thank you for saying so, but I shall go with any will he has, even if it means my rule will be short" He said.  
  
"If I may, your majesty, why do you wear a mask over your face, is it not a pleasant sight for anyone's eyes?"  
  
"Robert!" Scolded Christian his young brother "Know your place! That is the king of Jerusalem you speak to!".  
  
"it is quite all right, he has a right to ask, you see, I am also known as the Leper king, for I have been exposed to leropsy, contagious as it is, it is dangerous that I would walk with my disease that I bare, therefore I must contain it" He said, standing up from his chair "But enough about me, what is that you came for?" He asked.  
  
"We have come here from Grand Master Odo of the Templars and he said to tell you that we have his "blessings", or at least that is how he put it, your majesty" Said Robert.  
  
Baldwin nodded "Yes, as king of Jerusalem, it is my duty to see to every man, women and child who are under my care, and I do mean my word by it, so I would like to see what kind of people they are, and thus why I have asked for you to come see me" He said.  
  
"Your majesty, we have not come to you only to give our services to you, order us, and we shall execute that order" Said Christopher.  
  
"Then I shall command you what I have commanded every knight who came before you, safeguard the helpless, protect the weak, and do not forbid anyone of justice, be they Christians, Jews or Muslims, all are welcome in Jerusalem" Said Baldwin.  
  
"With pleasure, your majesty!" Christopher placed a fist on his chest.  
  
"You may leave now, before returning to your dormitory, I would ask you to patrol Jerusalem as your first order, inspect the city and right the wrongs doings of the people, that is all".  
  
"At, once, your majesty" Said Christopher, both bowed and exited the chamber and the palace, while in the gardens, Christopher and RObert saw the three men who were in the king's chamber earlier talking with each other, followed by other three men whom one of them was Rohard de Neapolim, with him were two bearded men, Reynald De Chatillon, a knights Templar, and Guy De Lusignan, Almaric's younger brother, laughing loudly and drinking wine and seemingly drunk while walking.  
  
"I ask you brother, we are in the holy city of Jerusalem, yet why do I see the devil's work inside of it?" Asked Robert.  
  
"There are strong Christians, and weak Christians brother, we are of the strong Christians with our faith and code, and they are weak with their desires and lusts" Said Christopher.  
  
"Then I pray to God we do not become those weak Christians in our later years" Said Robert.  
  
"Amen" Said Christopher.  
  
**April 13, 1175, Hama, Syria**  
  
Islam Ibn Abdullah was in his tent, praying the evening prayer "Asalamu alaikum warahmatu Allah, Asalamu alaikum warahmatu Allah" Peace and mercy of God, that was spoken by Islam while turning his head right then left while on his knees, then raising both his hands and wiped his face, ending his prayer, after getting out of his tent, he saw his friends arguing, so he went to them.  
  
"Everyone stop! Now what are you all doing? You should all be getting ready for the upcoming battle" Said Islam.  
  
"Islam, which of our horses do you think would win in a race? I was saying that my horse is the fastest in all of Arabia, but the others disagree, they say theirs is" Said one of Islam's friends.  
  
"There is no power but from Allah..." face-palmed Islam "This is not the time to be thinking on such matters, we have much more important work to be done!"  
  
At that moment, a commander by the name of Muhammad al-Faris, better known as Muhammad the Cavalier, approached Islam and his five friends "Enough wasting time! The battle will begin soon, all of you, to your posts now!" He commanded  
  
Islam and his friends went in line with the rest of the army "I hope that you are all ready for our first battle in Saladin's army as I am, brothers" Said Islam.  
  
"As ready as we'll ever be! Allah is on our side against our fight with the heretics, therefore, we shall not lose, god-willing!" Said one of Islam's friends enthusiastically.  
  
"We shall ride our horses onto battle and strike as fierce lions on our enemies!" Said another.  
  
"But why are we fighting Zengids then? We should be fighting the Christians, not the Muslims" Questioned another.  
  
"Because they have forgot the laws of Islam, to self-proclaim what is rightfully theirs is chaotic, that is why they must be taught a lesson" Said Islam.  
  
And indeed, a battle was about to happen at the Horns of Hama, for a rebellious party of the Zengids, denied Saladin's rule of Syria, Egypt and all of Arabia, where they attempted to take the rule over for themselves  
  
"Look! The enemy arrives!" Said one of Islam's friends, pointing at the Zengid army marching.  
  
"We must tell Saladin at once!" Islam rode to the tent of Saladin, whom was sitting with Imad al-Din al-Isfahani, his chancellor, Al-Qadi al-Fadil, his grand vizier, and three other men, they were Ibn Muqaddam, Shihab al-Din, the rightful Zengid rulers whom Yaqub had ordered to be executed, and so they came to ask for Saladin's help, and Muhhamad Ibn Shirkuh, son of Saladin's uncle, Asad al-Din Shirkuh "Peace be with you" Said Islam.  
  
"And peace be with you , what is it, Islam?" Asked Saladin.  
  
"Sir, the Zengids have arrived" Said Islam.  
  
Saladin nodded, stood up, grabbed his scimitar and mounted on his horse, Islam and the three other men did the same and followed Saladin, 

"Islam, go tell Muhammad al-Faris, that he will be commanding the right wing of the army" Ordered Saladin.  
  
"As you wish, sultan Saladin" With that, Islam rode to Muhammad and told Muhammad al-Faris about Saladin's order, which stationed Islam and his friends under his command, the rebellious army of the Zengids had an army of about twenty-thousand soldiers, while Saladin had more twenty-thousand soldiers.  
  
First, Saladin rode with Muhammad al-Faris to meet the leader of the Zengid rebellion, their leader seemed to be a young man in an age no older than twenty-eight, his name was Yaqub Zengi "Saladin!" Spoke the young man with an over-confident voice "As you can see, I have brought my large army that can defeat any other army in the world, which will be the end of you and your army, but I will have mercy if you will surrender and pass your lands and rank to me!".  
  
Saladin shook his head in disappointment "I never would have thought you'd be so arrogant as to do such a thing, to proclaim rule that was never yours to claim, you have allowed your greed to overcome you that will come with great consequences, do you think Nur al-Din would approve of this if he were alive, to see you like this on this day?".  
  
"Do not talk like you know him, for I know him far better than you will, you are foolish to think that I will hand over Syria to you, it belongs to the Zengids, not to you  
  
"Listen to me Yaqub, what you will do today would be considered as a great sin to Allah, and I fear you and your people will answer gravely for it, with all due respect for the previous ruler, Nur al-din, I propose this to you, instead of fighting us, fight with us, my aim is to unite all Syria to march to Jerusalem and return it to the Muslims, by doing so will repent your sins and will be replaced with many rewards, also, I am ready to give you and your commanders many lands in Syria and Egypt as many as you wish I promise you that, all I ask is that you, let not Muslims shed each other's blood, what say you?" Said Saladin.  
  
Yaqub let out a mocking laugh "You really expect me to step aside and let you take my rightful rank to yourself?! If you will not surrender, then you and the rest of your treacherous army to be executed!" Those were the last words of Yaqub before he left with his commanders to his army "So be it then..." Said Saladin, before leaving with his commander to his.  
  
With all preparations ready, the battle had begun with the right and left wing of the Zengids began their charge, Saladin unsheathed his sword and pointed forward, signalling the charge of the right and left wing of his army, Islam unsheathed his sword, as did his friends and charged heartily at the Zengids, shouting at the top of their lungs as if they were lions roaring at their enemy, first launching their arrows from foot and horseback on the Zengids, that killed a few Zengids before the army continued their charge, with a strong clash, the two forces met with swords and spears, the first hour of the battle had begun, Islam, Muhammad al-Faris, and Islam's friends were one of the many men who were fighting in the front line, adopting the ways of warfare from his late father, Islam fought hard like the strong warrior he is, from one Zengid soldier to another, Islam moved swiftly across the battlefield, slaying one after the other after a few clashes, swinging his scimitar right and left, sending bodies to the ground dead, butting his shield at the heads of his enemies as if it was hammer, as did his friends who were thinning the numbers of the Zengids, fighting like lions preying on it's victims, this moved Saladin's army behind him to follow Islam's example and advance, successfully driving back the left flank of the Zengid army, but while fighting, he saw the same thing was done to the army, for the left wing had been broken by the charging army of the Zengid right-wing.  
  
"Oh my god...they've broken through our right flank, they will reach or main camp soon, Masood! Nasir! Zaid! Stay here with the right wing, Khaled! Ali! Follow me, we must stop them from reaching Saladin!" Shouted Islam, taking a number of soldiers with him to counterattack the Zengid's left wing, moving quickly to the other side of the battlefield, Islam and the soldiers who followed him reinforced the line of the left-wing before it was too late but could not hold it for long on their own, on the field, Islam came to meet the man who led the Zengid's left-wing, looking at each other's eyes, Islam and the Zengid commander came charging at each other, their horses went around in circles, while it's riders clashed with their swords and shields, Islam came with his strike, the commander came with his, none of them seemed to gain an opening on either,as for the battle, the Zengids have broken through the left-wing even with the help Islam brought, who have reached the main command of Saladin's army, if not for the charge of his personal guard, a charge that halted the Zengids advance, now being surrounded by the right-wing and the personal guard, the Zengids were at a disadvantage but were still fighting, while the heated battle continued, another force from the vicinity came to join, they were reinforcements from Egypt sent to aid Saladin, at that moment, Saladin raised his sword in the air "All forces, charge!" Ordered Saladin for a full charge, his army attacked the Zengid army and slaying many numbers of them, thus the Zengid army begun their retreat, with Islam and the Zengid commander still fighting, the commander saw the retreat of the Zengids, giving the opportunity for Islam to bash him with his shield, knocking him out of his horse, Islam quickly dismounted and caught him before he could stand up again.  
  
While the Zengids retreated, they became routed, with no chance of winning or retreating, each one laid down their arms and raised both their hands, even advancing to the Zengid's main command and capturing the four leaders of the rebellion, Saladin had won the battle, the Zengids have lost a total of ten to thirteen-thousand men and captured seven-thousand men, while Saladin's army have lost two to three-thousand, thanks to the arrival of his reinforcements, and the brilliant strategy of Saladin.  
  
At his main encampment, Yaqub and his army were brought before Saladin "Traitors! All of you, I'll have you all executed for this!" Ranted Yaqub, speaking directly the three men who fled from Yaqub and to Saladin, Saladin walked to him and knelt "Have you not learned nothing yet? Your arrogance and greed have brought you to your downfall on this day, and because you, many lives were lost, I have warned you not to let your personal goals blind you from the right path, but you would not listen" He said "Silence Saladin! You have no right to lecture me, for you have no power over me! I am the rightful ruler of the Zengids! I am the one who deserves to be called Sultan! Me!" Shouted Yaqub, spitting at Saladin's feet, Saladin sighed in pity, stood up and walked to Yaqub's side, he looked back to the Ibn Muqaddam, Shihab al-Din and Muhammad ibn Shirkuh to determine his fate, which all answered by looking down and nodding their heads, Saladin unsheathed his sword and raised it above Yaqub's head "May Allah have mercy on your soul..." Saladin cut Yaqub's head, his soulless body fell dead to the ground, grabbing a cloth and wiping the blood from it and sheathing his sword, he turned to the three Zengids "Now, as for you three, I would ask you to join me in my cause of uniting the rest of Syria, in return, each of you will have his own piece of land and be given a suitable rank, what is your answer?" Asked Saladin, three men looked to each other and nodded, Saladin smiled and embraced each one of them.  
  
At that same moment, Islam brought in the commander of the Zengid right wing before Saladin to his knees with his hands tied behind his back "Sultan, I have brought you the man who lead the soldiers to an almost victory for the Zengids" Said Islam, keeping his grip on the handle of his sword behind the commander.  
  
Saladin approached the man and knelt to meet him face to face with a stern eye "What is your name, soldier?" Asked Saladin.  
  
"Gokbori" Replied the man.  
  
"And why did you not surrender when I gave that opportunity to you?" Asked Saladin once more.  
  
"It was not my place to do so, I am merely a military commander, I take orders from my lord and my lord alone" Replied Gokbori.  
  
"You belong to no one but yourself, your soul and body belong to Allah, not to men" Said Saladin, Gokbori lowered his head in shame.  
  
Then stood Saladin "I have full right to order your execution...but I will instead let you live your life, and the rest of the captured soldiers, you will take them and return to your homes, on the condition that you will never be on the side that wages war with us, what do you say?" Asked Saladin, with a more calm manner.  
  
Gokbori still kept his head lowered in front of Saladin, but yet nodded "Islam, release him and the rest of the soldiers, and let who want to join our army be welcomed, and any one who wants to return to their homes and people is also allowed to go" Said Saladin.  
  
"Yes, Sultan" Said Islam, taking out his dagger and released Gokbori from his ropes, then went to free the rest of the captured army, Gokbori stood up and looked at Saladin, did not speak a word but bowed in thanks to Saladin, took his sword and shield, and rode his horse with three-thousand captives who wished to return to their homes, with the the rest deciding to join Saladin's army.  
  
Later, Saladin ordered that the bodies of both the Zengids and their army to be buried, Islam and his friends went to collect the fallen weapons and bury the bodies with the rest of the army "What a glorious victory today! We were right to follow Saladin, he is a true leader!" Said Zaid enthusiastically.  
  
"Yes, although I would have liked it more if we did not fight with people who were as the same religion as us..." Said Nasir.  
  
"What can we do? It is God's will to happen and what's done is done, we cannot be mourning about that now" Said Khalid.  
  
"I also feel sad about those who fought in battle, best we can do is that Allah will forgive them in our prayers" Said Islam, suddenly, he heard his friend Ali shout for him "Islam! Come quickly!".  
  
Islam and his friends hurried to Ali "What is it Ali, what has happened?" Asked Islam, Ali did not say a word but was standing over a body of someone they all knew "We belong to Allah and to him we return..." It was the body of Massoud, whom was friends with Zaid, Nasir, Khaled, Ali and Islam.  
  
"How fortunate he is, to have become a martyr before us..." Said Ali, wiping his tears over his dead brother.  
  
"May Allah forgive his past sins and grant him passage to Paradise" Said Islam.  
  
"Amen" Said his friends, wiping their faces, they went to Masood to bury him, after that, they sat at his grave and prayed for him, then returning to Saladin after being done of burying the bodies and collecting the weapons.  
  
After praying for those who died in the battle from both sides, Saladin rode his horse and stood in front of his army "Soldiers of Allah! Through Allah's grace and aid, we have crushed the rebellion of the mislead and returned order to the land, thus we have finally united all of Syria, thus bringing all Muslims from Syria, Egypt and Arabia to one flag, we are now one body, one soul, one force, and as one, we shall march onto Jerusalem next and reclaim it form the Christians to Allah and his worshipers once more! God is great!" Shouted Saladin, Islam, his friends, and Saladin's army raised their weapons to the sky and repeated after him "God is great! God is great! God is great!".


	4. Battle of Montgisard

_**25 November 1177** _

Christopher and Robert, along with Lorenzo de Hautivelle and Johan de Hohenstaufen, were walking through the streets of Jerusalem, inspecting it's people and what events that may occur.

"You are still reading that book, brother?" Asked Christopher Robert.

"Why not? It is full of valuable information of warfare that will surely be useful one day, and if you haven't noticed, I am not as good as you are with the sword, so I will try to be better with my mind" Said Robert, reading the book of war strategies while walking.

"He is right Christopher, a knight must not all be strong with his hands but his mouth as well" Said Lorenzo.

"He is not wrong Christopher, that way, you won't have to look far for a strategist should the day come when you need one" Said Johan, chuckling.  
  
"Hahaha! That is a clever way of seeing it, did you hear that Robert? You may be the strategist of the Knights Templar" Said Christopher.

"A very tempting position, but I am aiming to be the Grand Master than a strategist" Said Robert.

Christopher, Johan and Lorenzo looked to each other with wide surprised eyes "Lo!, that is a bold ambition" Said Johan.

"That is Robert the Wise to you!" Said Christopher, laughing and patting Robert's shoulder roughly, Robert replied with a small smile and a chuckle.

On their way, they saw a man whipping another in the streets "Take that you thief! You dare you steal from me? You shall pay dearly for that!" Said the man whipping the other who was on the ground screaming in pain.

"Stop!" Said Christopher, grabbing the man's and taking the whip from him "Ah, finally, a knights Templar, sir, this man has stolen from me, I want you to take him and and kill him!" Said the standing over the man who was crying on the ground.

"What has he stolen from you?" Asked Christopher.

"A camel and 10 bezants, Muslims! They are all alike each other, thieves and criminals, they should all be punished and killed altogether!" Robert knelt to the man on the ground "Is this true, have you stolen from this man?" He asked.

The man got to his knees from the ground and clasped his hands together "I...I have my lord but please allow me to say why I have done so, I owe this man a debt that cost me all of what I have left, I now have nothing to feed my poor wife and child, I came to his house to ask if he has anything he could spare, he was not there but I found his camel and a pouch of gold bezants instead, please understand my lord that I could not let my family die!" He said.

"Silence! I have warned you before, that if I lent you my gold, you must pay it back, and what do I find? You coming back for more, you greedy worm!" Said the other man, Robert stood up and turned to the man shouting at the poor one with an angry gaze, then to both Johan and Lorenzo "Lorenzo, Johan...might I ask that you will lend this man what you can spare of gold?".  
  
Both Johan and Lorenzo looked to each other for a moment, then both took out a bag of gold from their belts, helped the man up and gave it to him "There, I believe that will be enough to help you and your family" Said Robert.

The man threw himself into Robert's feet and kissed it "Thank you my lord! May Allah reward you!" Said the man.

"No no, stand" Robert helped the man up "Do not thank me, I am simply a man, it is God that is worthy of your gratitude, now return to your home, but give this man his camel and gold back" Said Robert, then turned to the other man "Go with him and take what belonged to you" With that, Robert left the scene, with Lorenzo, Christopher, and Johan following him.

"That was...a kind act what you did Robert, not many would have done what you did" Said Christopher.  
  
"That is because I hold no grudge against Muslims, we are all created by the Lord God, therefore we are all alike" Said Robert, continuing to read his book "And thank you Lorenzo and Johan, I shall pay you back the money you have lent that man".  
  
"Think nothing of it Robert, there are things more worth than gold" Said Johan. 

"I believe that will do for today's patrol, let us go back and report to the king" Suggested Lorenzo.

Hours later, they passed by the Al-Aqsa to find many Templars and knights alike ready for battle "What is going on?" Asked Robert, with Lorenzo, Johan and Christopher looking in confusion.

"Robert! Christopher! Come brothers, the time has come for us to meet the Saracens in battle, we move immediately" Said Charles de Bayle, gesturing for both to come with.

Upon hearing, Christopher turned to the three with an enthusiastic expression "Did you hear brothers? This shall be our first battle since our arrival at Jerusalem, God has chosen us to be his soldiers in this conflict!" Said Christopher with enthusiasm.  
  
"Hmm, I merely hoped it wouldn't come to this...but I suppose it can't be helped, it is as the Lord commands" Said Robert.  
  
"That's it Robert, God wills it!" Placing his hand on Robert's shoulder.

"Then I and Lorenzo bid you farewell, we shall go and see the king before moving out, we shall meet you later on" Said Johan.

"Very well then, peace be with you, Johan and Lorenzo" Said Christopher, forearm shaking both with Robert before leaving.  
  
"Now, I believe it is our turn to leave with the rest of the Templars, Christopher" Suggested Robert.  
  
"Right you are Christopher, but first, let us go to our horses first" Said Christopher, both brothers went to their dormitory building to find George and Justin waiting for them.

"My lords, we have heard loud cries and shouts from here in the city, it sounded like nothing good was happening so we have readied your equipment and horses" Said Justin.

"God bless you, lads, the Saracens have made their move, so it is time we made ours" Said Christopher, with Robert, they grabbed their shields, daggers and helms then mounting their horses.

"Let us come with you then, we wish to assist you furthermore" Said George.

Robert looked to both squires then to Christopher "Christopher?" Questioning his older brother if they could come.

"Absolutely not, it is far too dangerous and you two are not ready for battle yet, in the future perhaps, but not today" Said Christopher strictly, with the boys looking and sighing.

"Forgive us boys, but he is right, it's a risk we are not willing to take, you can help us after we return, now let us be off brother" Said Robert, nodded Christopher and both rode to join the Templars moving outside of the city Jerusalem.

Joining the Templars, following the army of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, they met with Charles de Bayle on his mount "Ahh, there you are" Said Charles.  
  
"Forgive us for our late arrival Charles, we went to grab our equipment before heading out" Said Christopher.

"Think nothing of it, what matters is that you are here, may I ask you, how do you feel prior to your first battle?" Asked Charles.

"I have nothing to say except that I am more than glad to deliver God's word unto the Saracen infidels and defend our Holy City, it's people, and religion!" Said Christopher.

"Well said, Robert?" Asked Charles again, turning to Robert this time, with Christopher also looking at him.  
  
"Robert looked down on the ground for a moment before answering "It is as Christopher says, I am a knight, and it is my duty to be a swift sword for those who would aim to attack us, that is all" Said Robert.

"I much agree, brother, I am glad to have you with me in this battle and would hope that you will in the battles to come" Said Charles.

"So then, you have not yet told us, where are we headed?" Asked Christopher.

"Of what I know and heard, the Saracens under Saladin plan to march through Gaza, Ascalon and Ramla, we shall first move to Ascalon to gather what men and horses we can there, then march on to the Saracens" Said Charles.

"I pray that God will give us the strength and courage to defeat them, I for one, shall not lay down my weapon until all Saracens have been cut down, or die trying, you are with me on that, are you not, Robert?" Asked Christopher.  
  
Robert sighed "Yes...I suppose so Christopher" Giving a small smile, with that, the three, with the rest of the Templars and the army have moved out of Jerusalem.  
  
**Meanwhile  
  
**Saladin's army have marched from Egypt to the the Kingdom of Jerusalem, Saladin's army was made of twenty-six thousand that consisted of soldiers from Syria and Arabia, and Mamlukes from Egypt, Saladin gave the order to split the army, Muhammad al-Faris, commander of the right wing, was to advance on Arsuf, with Islam, Khaled, Ali, Zaid and Nasir joining him, Bashir al-Walid, commander of the left wing, was to march to Gaza and lay siege it, while sending a small number of troops to Ascalon, where King Baldwin and his army are currently at, Saladin went to march on Jerusalem and conquer city, and the strategy began to form.  
  
**The Christian Army, Ascalon**  
  
King Baldwin and the rest of the army were on the their knees before a relic of the True Cross, praying that their Lord would grant them victory on this day, Christopher, Robert and Charles were resting on their swords plunged to the ground, also praying, finishing with their prayer, the Christian army started to take their positions.  
  
King Baldwin was seen on his horse talking with Odo de St Amand and Amalric de Lusignan, behind them were Reynald de Chatillon, Guy de Lusignan, Roland de St. Denis and Rohard de Neapolim.  
  
"Tell me Odo, what is the amount of our army?" Asked king Baldwin.  
  
"About seven-thousand your majesty, a hundred and fifty seven knights, and eighty-four men from my Templars" Said Odo.  
  
"I wonder if we can muster more than that, reports say that Saladin has more than twenty-thousand soldiers" Said Baldwin.  
  
"It matters not my king, we don't need any more soldiers for this battle, we shall simply march on the Saracens and slay them where they stand! For we are God's children and his warriors of his faith" Said Odo.  
  
"Which will lead to many lost lives of our men and our possible defeat, relying on faith only will not do if we wish to achieve victory without losing to many of our army, according to my scouts, Saladin's first attack was to lay siege on Gaza, we must assist them at once, Odo, do tell the Templars to march there, we shall move Ramla before Saladin can arrive there first" Said Baldwin.  
  
"Yes, king Baldwin" Said Odo, bowing his head.

In a few moments, the army was ready to move again, with king Baldwin standing at the head of the army, marching from Ascalon to Ramla, while the Templars went to Gaza, before leaving, Christopher and Robert were with Johan and Lorenzo.

"Well, Lorenzo, Johan, here is where we part ways, I hope that we will meet again after the battle unharmed" Said Christopher.

"And so do we Christopher" Said Johan, shaking the arms of Christopher, and Lorenzo with Robert.

That's when Roland showed himself to the four men "Yes, by all means, say your goodbyes to each other for this maybe the last time you ever see one another!" Said Roland arrogantly before riding off.

The four looked to Roland with disappointment then to each other "I pray to God that he will save you from the Saracens, and from Roland" Said Robert, chuckling a bit.

Lorenzo chuckled as well "Do take care Robert, and you Christopher, God be with you" He said.

"And with you" Said Christopher, with that, the two Templars left with the rest of the Templar Knights.

On king Baldwin's path, the Christian army heard horse hooves galloping and war cries from afar, a small number of Saladin's army appeared from behind a hill, attacking the Christian army.  
  
"Ambush!" Screamed a Templar, before being met with an arrow to the neck.

The Muslim army had begun it's attack, the Christian army had quickly taken up arms and positions against the invading Saracens, the two forces collided in steel, engaged in a desert skirmish, the Saracens attacked fiercely, but the Christians defended valiantly, not allowing the Saracens to even reach the king's presence, Roland, Lorenzo and Johan especially were fighting the Saracens and defending their king with all the skill and strength they have, cutting the Muslims one after the other on both horse and ground,  after a few losses from the Saracens and even fewer from the Christians, the Saracens retreated, the Christian army raised their voices in victory.

"They are retreating, we has won!" Shouted Guy, who was next to the king.  
  
"They are not retreating, they are regrouping, in a few minutes, they will attack again with a much bigger force that will surely decimate our army ,we cannot stay here any longer, we must regroup with other soldiers and strengthen our defenses" Said king Baldwin.

"Your majesty, if I may, the best option we have is to march to Ramla where a known lord is there, the son of Barisan of Ibelin, Baldwin, I am certain they will reluctantly join us if we ask for their help" Said Amalric.

"Yes, I suppose we can regroup there, very well, we shall march to Ramla and meet it's lord" Said king Baldwin, giving the order to move out.

At Gaza, Bashir al-Walid laid siege to the city, launching catapults and arrows on it's defenders, unfortunately, the Christians won't be able to hold it for long without reinforcements, but as if God had answered their prayers, the Templars, led by their Grand Master, Odo de st. Amand, took Bashir's soldiers by surprise from behind them.

"My lord Bashir, look!" Said one of the soldiers near to Bashir, where he saw the Templars charge directly from behind his back, before the Saracens could take defensive positions, the Templar quickly caught them with the element of surprise, the Templars began fighting the Muslims, with Christopher, Robert and Charles in the lead of the Templars, slaying more than five Muslims at a time, the Muslims fought long and hard, but were forced to lift the siege when a relief force came from Gaza and surrounded the Saracens from one side, with the Templars on the other, soon they retreated, barely escaping with their lives, with a few Templars slashing their backs like Reynald.

"Follow them, we must not let them regroup with more of their army that would put us in a disadvantage, onward!" Commanded Odo to pursue Bashir's force, with more soldiers joining the Templars from Gaza as additional soldiers. 

However, on Saladin's end, he and his army marched to Ramla and Lydda, with the purpose of conquering it, but stopped to see Bashir al-Walid and his army coming towards but what surprised him more, was that he was being chased by the Templars with many others from Gaza as well.

Hours later, On Saladin and his army's army's way to Jerusalem. they saw Bashir riding with his to them, thinking he came to report his siege on Gaza but what widened his eyes even more is that he saw the Templars behind them, coming with a strong cavalry force, Odo, Charles, Christopher, and Robert were leading the attack, Bashir regrouped with Saladin before the Templars can, even though they were outnumbered greatly by the Muslims, they did not retreat, for they knew that God was on their side, the now regrouped Saracen army loosened their many arrows on the Templars, killing some while the arrows blocked with their shields, which sent both of Bashir and Saladin's soldiers on the Templars, as the two forces fought, the Templars tried their best to take five Saracens before they could die but what a futile attempt at that, for it was the Saracens that were thinning their numbers, even as Christopher and Robert fought side by side throughout the skirmish, slaying as many Muslims as they can, they still took blows from them that brought exhaustion upon their body, Robert took sword strikes in his chest and back, with Christopher took an arrow to the shoulder, seeing as the Muslims were too strong for them, not to mention also losing all the soldiers who followed them from Gaza, the Grand Master ordered for a full retreat.

"We have won! but the battle is still active, do not let them escape, after them!" Ordered Bashir.

"No, let them go" Said Saladin.

"But Sultan the Christians have retreated, we must give chase!" Said Bashir.

"They are not the reason we came, our goal is to claim Jerusalem for the Muslims, not to waste time and men on the Christians, if should we fight them, we fight theme there" Said Saladin, ordering his army to continue the march and for Bashir to return to Gaza and wait there.

The Templars rode far away from Saladin's army and Gaza, taking their time to count their dead and revive their wounded.

"Agh!" Shouted Christopher as he was having his arrow removed from his shoulder, while his brother next to him was having his back and chest treated.

"How could we lose? I was sure that our Lord was on our side, it never came to me that we, his children, would be defeated" Said Christopher.

"As much as it pains me to say this but..I do believe that was to be expected, for they had more soldiers and weapons than we had, if only we saw that before we striked the Saracens..." Said Robert, looking down.

"Don't despair yet brother, we may have lost this battle, but it will certainly not be our last battle" Said Christopher.

"How many soldiers have we lost?" Asked Odo Charles.

"At least fifteen from the Templars, and nearly all from those who followed us from Gaza, it is probably in the hands of the Saracens" Said Charles.

"What is more dangerous, is that our king will be in danger if they reach him before we do, we must make haste to king Baldwin at once, ready the Templars, we move immeditately!" With that, the Templars made way to king Baldwin at Ramla.

King Baldwin had taken a shortcut to Ramla and reached Ramla while there was still time to, prior to arriving there, he met the lord of Ramla.

"Welcome, king Baldwin, to Ramla" Said Baldwin, taking a bow, not before long, Baldwin's younger brother, Balian, appeared behind him, also bowing to the king.

"It is good to see you again Baldwin, I have come with a crucial request of aid, Saladin and his army have invaded the Kingdom and I fear it will not hold for long with my army alone, will you help us in driving them back?" Asked king Baldwin.

"Of course your majesty, I'd be glad to, but I fear my lord that I have no more than a hundred soldiers to spare" Said Baldwin.

"I believe that should suffice, prepare them, we leave at once" Said King Baldwin.

"Yes king Baldwin" Said Baldwin, bowing and taking his leave.

And that is how Baldwin of Ibelin and his younger brother, Balian, have joined the army of king Baldwin.

"What will our next strategy be, my king?" Asked Amalric. 

"My scouts have told me that Saladin intends to march on the Holy City, but thankfully is still far from it's reach, if my calculations are correct, he is still marching with his army in Montgisard, we shall advance from here to Montgisard and attempt to lift his siege off the kingdom" Sad king Baldwin, taking out a map and showing it to Odo "If Saladin will march through here, we have a chance to stand in front of him and block his march, thus the only way that will open his path to Jerusalem is by defeating us first, that is why we must defeat him, else Jerusalem will fall" Said King Baldwin.

Before leaving Ramla, Baldwin left few soldiers to defend it should Saladin's army invade it.

After going to Lydda first and gathering a hundred knights more, the Christian army executed their plan, trapping Saladin's movement by standing in their way while Saladin was still on his way to Jerusalem from Montgisard, that is near Ramla, through a narrow passage, king Baldwin's army lay waiting for the right moment to attack.

Lorenzo, Johan and Roland watched as Saladin's army came nearer and neared to them "Try not to get us killed on this battle, we did not come all this way from Jerusalem just so you can end our lives today" Said Roland.

"Then I suggest you pray to the Lord that he protects you on the battlefield, as Lorenzo and I will not" Said Johan looking sternly to Roland, Roland scoffed.

"Army of Jerusalem, charge!" The Muslims were completely surprised by the sudden attack of the Christian army, the cavalry charged with their lances at the Muslims, killing nearly all of the front lined soldiers in Saladin's army, but they quickly managed to stand in formation and halt the riders charge, and thus began the battle of Montgisard, the Christians struck forth at the Muslims, Roland, Lorenzo and Johan the rest of the army fought tooth and nail, but were in the same situation as the Templars, the Muslims were superior in numbers and equipment, and soon, the Christians were dropping dead to the ground, without aid, the Christians would fall.

Luckily, in the midst of the battle, the Templars were in the vicinity when they heard men shouting and swords clashing, they saw the Muslims fighting the Christians on a narrow passage.

"Over there! Our brave king and his army are fighting the Saracens on their own, we must lend our strength to our brothers-in-arms, onward, to our king!" Odo gave the command for a full charge on the Muslims.

The Muslims slayed more and more as the Christians tried their best to defend their king, but were only being forced back by the ongoing attacks of the Muslims, that is until they heard the Templars arriving from behind the Muslims, to Saladin's surprise, he noticed the Templars were fighting his army from behind, soon, the Muslims became surround by both side.

Seeing this, king Baldwin became so motivated, that he himself took his sword and shield and rode his horse, even though he was a leper, he could still fight "Behold! God has sent us our brothers as reinforcements, we shall now strike on to the Saracens with more force, with me children of Christ, attack!" king Baldwin, Baldwin of Ramla, Balian of Ibelin, and Guy de Lusignan charged at the Muslims with all their strength, they slayed Muslim after Muslim across the battlefield, the Christians too were inspired to fight harder alongside their king, the Templars wreaked havoc on the Saracens from behind, bringing forth their blades on the Saracens bodies with swiftness, and so, the tide turned to the Christians.

"Sultan Saladin, we have already lost too many men, we must retreat!" Said Taqi al-Din, one of Saladin's commanders.

Not wanting to retreat, but also not wanting to lose his soldiers even more, Saladin agreed "Send word to both Bashir al-Walid and to Muhammad al-Faris to fall back" Said Saladin.

The Muslims main priority now was to escape from the Christians and return back to Egypt from whence they came, from the Templars side, Saladin's personal guard, the Mamlukes, charged forth on to the Templars, cutting a path for Saladin and his army to retreat, king Baldwin did not pursue immediately as he saw that the Muslims would prove to be more powerful on defense and that his army were already tired, thus the battle ended in favor of the Christians.

"Victory! God has brought us victory!" Said king Baldwin, turning to his army and raising his sword to the air, his army cried in triumph.

Later, Islam along with, Nasir, Zaid, Ali, Khaled and Muhammad al-Faris, who have successfully besieged Arsuf, received word that Saladin was to retreat with his army from Jerusalem, being left with no choice but to obey, Muhammad al-Faris and the rest abandoned Arsuf and marched to regroup with Saladin on his way to Egypt, Islam was among the many Muslims distraught with the defeat.

Christopher, Robert, Lorenzo and Johan embraced each other after the battle.

"What a glorious day, our first battle and victory on the Saracens, God has truly favored us today!" Said Christopher.

"As I told you brother, whatever happens, God will not forsaken us if ever" Said Robert.

"What I am more thankful is that we have met each other after the battle" Said Lorenzo.

Then, king Baldwin ordered for the army to go after Saladin as to the fact he was still in Jerusalem, they would follow him in pursuit until he was out of the kingdom completely, ten days later, after heavy rain and the constant raids the Christians befell on the Muslims that brought fatigue on both sides, Saladin was out of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and in Egypt, gathering his strength once more.

After making sure that the Muslims were no longer in the kingdom of Jerusalem, king Baldwin ordered that a Benedictine monastery dedicated to St. Catherine of Alexendria, built on the place of the battle, also that a feast at night would be held in celebration of their victory at the Holy City.

"My lords and ladies, after ten days of battle, we have pushed the Muslims back and expelled them completely from the kingdom of Jerusalem, and so, I have brought you all today in celebration of our recent triumph "May God bless Jerusalem" Said king Baldwin, where everyone raised their cups and mugs, repeating after their king, Christopher, Robert, Johan, Lorenzo and Charles were speaking with each other on the day of the battle but Robert was distracted by another thing that he was not paying attention when Christopher nudged him gently.

"Brother, are you all right? Your eyes are somewhere else" Said Christopher.

"Is it because that maybe Robert have drunk too much?" Said Charles jokingly, which sent the four men to laughter, with Robert smiling a bit.

"Not this time, er excuse me" Said Robert, leaving the four and going to a group that consisted of Reynald, Guy and Roland talking at a table.

"Ahem, my lords, I came here to congratulate each of you on their victory and astounding stand you made on the day of the battle, such prowess on the battlefield should be praised and be an inspiration to knights such as you" With that, Robert bowed and took his leave, which made the three break into a mocking laughter later on.

When he returned to his brother and their friends, they all stared at him.

"What? I am simply trying to become the good Christian that God and our father wants me to be" Said Robert.

Charles, Lorenzo and Johan sighed with Christopher, but then took him under his arm "That's my little brother, Robert the saint" And the four laughed at Christopher's words, with Robert smiling and chuckling as well.


	5. Battle of Marj Ayuun

_**10 June, 1179** _

After the victory over the Saracens two years ago, the Muslims have retreated from Jerusalem and back to their homeland to strengthen their forces and attack once more, since then, King Baldwin and the Crusader States have been ever more vigilant and aware of their activities, now, that the Muslimss have been able reinforce once more, the Muslims traveled from Egypt and Syria with a mass army to Jerusalem once more to conquer it under the command of Saladin, once they arrived, Saladin gave the order for villages and small towns near Sidon to be raided, without the killing of any of its inhabitants except for its guards if they don't surrender, the people would be unable to pay the taxes to their lords, the command would be carried out by small units, one of whom Islam of Damascus was leading, in response to this, King Baldwin have called all lords to muster an army and put a stop to Saladin, recently they have deployed troops from various cities and counties to protect the towns and cities and send supply them, but those supplies and men would be attacked constantly by Saracen raiders, while discussing in their war room, one man, Count Raymond III of Tripoli, a man of intellect and strategy and a respected member of King Baldwin's court, had received word that Saladin is currently in an area near the mountains of Marj Ayuun, by suggestion of Raymond, they have decided that they would go to Tripoli first, then continue on from there to Saladin's camp.

"Get me my sword quickly, George" Said Christopher, while George was readying his shield.

"Yes, sire" Said George, getting his sword and placing it on his belt, then went to Christopher's horse.

"Take care, sir Christopher, God be with you" Said George.

"And you, lad" Said Christopher, he mounted his steed and rode to meet Robert and Charles with the rest of the Templars that was moving out of Jerusalem.

"There you are Christopher, come, we are exiting the Holy City now" Said Charles, the army of King Baldwin, and the Templars have now moved out of the city gates and made their way to Tiberias in the county of Tripoli.

"So, brothers, once again, we ride forth together to face the Saracens" Said Charles.

"And once more, we shall defeat them where they stand and drive them back from Jerusalem where they shall not return for a few years more, what say you, Robert?" Said Christopher.

"I say, 'tis a shame that we cannot save such lost souls from what awaits them in the afterlife, nevertheless, it is our duty as the children of God and his soldiers to defeat those who would take our Holy City from our hands and destroy it" Said Robert.

"Agreed brother, and that is why we will not fail in that matter, for we are the sword of the Lord who spreads his word of justice" Said Christopher.

"If only we had more like you both of you, I am certain that we could cleanse the world of evil and corruption if all the Templar's minds and hearts were like yours" Said Charles.

"Then I shall pray for that to happen" Said Robert.

"Forgive me but I never asked you this, from where do you both hail from?" Asked Charles.

"England" Said Robert.

"And how did you come by to be in Jerusalem?" Asked Charles.

"The same reason every other Christian has, and seeing as we are knights of the Templar order, it was our duty to answer the call of the Crusade and protect our Holy land from the Saracens" Said Christopher.

"I see...a most noble reason indeed, I wish I could say the same about myself" Said Charles.

"You didn't volunteer?" Asked Robert.

"Not exactly, I came here by the order of the king of France, but nonetheless, I am glad that I have, now I can join my brothers in their divine cause instead of just praying for them" Said Charles.

"And I am glad that you have found us, for we shall aid you in that divine cause" Said Christopher, smiling to Charles.

_**Later** _

The army of King Baldwin and the Templars had arrived at Count Raymond's castle at Tiberias, Raymond was able to gather one-hundred and four soldiers from the city guards to king Baldwin's army, and after resting for a very short while and revising their plan once more, they moved out of Tiberias and continued marching through the stronghold of Safed, also gathering additional soldiers from there then continue their march until they were able to reach the mountains of Marj Ayuun.

"King Baldwin, I have news" Said a scout, entering king Baldwin's tent.

"Yes?" Asked Baldwin.

"We have located the Saracens, your majesty, they're camped in a valley not far from here" Said the scout.

"Now is our chance, your majesty, let us attack them right now where they don't expect us" Said Rohard de Neapolim, a lord in Jerusalem.

"Before we make any rash moves, I suggest we investigate them for a while longer, we still do not know how many of them there are, we may learn something that we currently do not" Said Raymond.

"Nonsense! The time is now to strike forward unto the Saracens, we cannot waste any more time and we may not have a better chance than now, I say we strike immediately" Said Odo.

Although Raymond's words were true and wise, lord Rohard was agreed by other lords in the war room, seeing that the lords favored Rohard's suggestion, he gave the order.

"Very well, Rohard de Neapolim, you, with your soldiers and the Templars, will lead the charge on the Saracens, my army and I will follow you, I expect that you will bring us victory" Said Baldwin.

"By God's grace, I shall bring you victory and the head of Saladin" Said Rohard, exiting the camp.

"Your majesty, are you sure that was wise?" Asked Raymond.

"It may not have been wise, but we've no choice, the morale of the men must be risen to make their strikes swift, for if the morale falls, then we have already lost the battle, be ready to move, Raymond" Said Baldwin.

"As you wish, your majesty" Said Raymond, exiting the king's tent.

King Baldwin kept thinking if it was indeed a mistake to strike without wasting another minute as like Odo suggested "God give us strength and grant us victory" He prayed.

With the battle preparations now ready, king Baldwin's army and the Templars were ready to attack.

_**Meanwhile** _

Islam had returned to the Muslim camp in the Marj Ayuun mountains from Sidon, where he had conquered a number of towns and villages, he dismounted his horse near Saladin's tent and went inside but did not find him.

"Peace be upon you" Said Islam to the guardsman of Saladin's tent.

"And peace be upon you" Replied the guardsman.

"Where is the Sultan? I've come to report to him" Said Islam.

"Sultan Saladin has left with the main army" Said the guardsman.

"Has he said where he left to?" Asked Islam.

"Nothing of the sort, all I know is that he left to the east of our position" Said the guardsman.

"Let us pray that he arrives soon then"  Said Islam, then went to the small unit he was commanding and ordered them to dismount and rest for the time being until Saladin returns, Islam sat on the ground with Nasir, Zaid, Ali, and Khaled and ate with them.

"What has happened? I thought we were supposed to leave immediately when we've reached the camp" Said Zaid.

"Not until Sultan Saladin returns with the main army, we'll wait here in the camp until he does" Said Islam.

"Islam, if I may ask you, what we did in Sidon, was that a just act?" Asked Nasir.

"What are you saying Nasir?! Of course it was just, or would you have it that the unbelievers would strengthen their soldiers while we do nothing?" Exclaimed Khaled.

"No, I don't mean that, I mean what we did with the villages and towns, it did not feel right to ruin crops and farms for the people" Said Nasir.

"No, it was not" Said Islam.

"Islam!" Said Ali in surprise.

"It was not just, but it was necessary, it is as Khaled said, if we had not did what we did, thy would have gained an upper hand over us, which would serve us poorly in the future" Said Islam.

"I know, but-".

"Enough Nasir! There was nothing we could do, they were direct orders from Sultan Saladin himself, would you disobey him? And remember, we haven't killed any of the villagers, nor have we kicked them out of their homes, even their gold we did not take, so there was no injustice about that" Said Ali.

But then, suddenly, sounds of horse hooves and war cries were heard from nearby.

"Ambush! Everyone, to your battle positions!" Shouted a soldier.

A cavalry force of five-hundred soldiers and a thousand Templars charged at the Muslim camp, thus, the skirmish has begun, the Muslim archers quickly readied their arrows and loosened them on the Templars killing and injuring a few, while others blocked them with their shields, when they got closer, the Muslims faced the Templars with their pikes and long spears, they skewered those in the first line, but the second managed to break their formation, the Templars and the Crusaders, along with Christopher, Robert, Charles, Rohard, Roland, Reynald and Odo started cutting down the Muslims one by one with their swords, they stabbed them with their spears, they bludgeoned them with their maces, Islam started firing arrows on the mounted Crusaders, killing five of them in rapid succession, then saw a Templar charge at him with full speed, he picked up a spear form a nearby body and threw it at the Templar, it went to his chest and threw him off his horse, killing him, he then found his friends and his small unit were being attacked heavily by the Templars, they were slowly about to be completely slaughtered, Islam quickly made haste for his white war-horse, while dodging and blocking attacks from incoming, charging Templars, he mounted his horse once he reached him, unsheathed his scimitar and readied his round-shield, then hurried to the rescue of his unit, he charged and slayed one mounted Templar on his with a back-slash, then another on his right.

"Quickly! Everyone find a horse, we'll all be killed if we stay on the ground!" Shouted Islam.

His friends and unit mounted on top of any horse they can find near them, when ten and more had mounted, Islam launched a charge with his small army on the Templars, they slayed Templars with swiftness and ease with their scimitars and small spears, seeing as Arabians were expert mounted soldiers and were fully trained on desert-warfare, seeing this, the Muslims fought back, the camp was in total chaos, the tents were trampled and brought down, there were dead Templars, but even more dead Muslims, as being outnumbered by them, however, that did not stop them from fighting even if the odds are against them, after an hour of fighting though, Islam and the Muslims witnessed a massive full charge by the Crusader army, being led by a man in a silver mask, realizing they would soon be massacred, they had no choice but to fall back, the archers began to fire arrows to cover the retreat of their allies, the Muslims headed for behind a mountain.

"Victory! Once again, the Holy God has granted us victory!" Shouted Odo, the Crusaders and the Templars started cheering in victory.

Islam escaped with most from his unit and a few others who were lucky enough to get caught within the Templar charge, they rested on the other side of the mountain, cleaning their injuries.

"Agh! I'll kill them, I'll kill them all until there are none left of them in all Jerusalem, I'll slay every last one of the Christians and throw them in a pit of fire!" Shouted Khaled in rage, he plunged his sword to the ground.

"Control your anger, Khaled! It's no use now, whats happened has happened" Said Ali.

"What do we do know, we have nowhere to go, if we return to the way we came from, they'll kill us, and if we go the other way, we'll starve and thirst to death" Said Nasir.

"We have no choice but to pray to Him, he will be our savior of this situation" Said Islam.

"Islam! Everyone, look!" Said Zaid with a smile, he pointed to where an army was coming to their direction.

King Baldwin rode to Rohard "Your majesty! As I have promised you, we have triumphed against the enemy" Said Rohard proudly.

"Well done Rohard, your Templars truly are strong warriors of God, I pray that you will continue to bring us more victories in the coming battles" Said Baldwin.

"But of course your majesty, I am at your service" Said Rohard, bowing.

"My lord, there are no further signs of the Saracens, we have taken over their camp, what are your orders?" Asked Raymond.

"We shall take advantage of this camp and rest here for the moment, then go after Saladin" Said Baldwin.

"Yes, your majesty" Said Raymond.

The Crusaders and the Templars laid down their arms and dismounted from their horses, some took food and water that the Muslims left, they moved the dead bodies of the Templars and the Muslims and buried them, Christopher sat under a half-torn tent, while drinking from a waterskin he took from his belt, he saw Robert kneeling and placing both his hands together, Christopher got up and walked to him.

"Praying, brother?" Asked Christopher.

"Yes, for the brothers we have lost in this day" Said Robert.

Christopher took out his greatsword and plunged it to the ground next to him, he knelt beside Robert and prayed with him.

"Oh lord, I ask that you forgive all the sins that our brothers have done in their past life, welcome them into your gardens of paradise, grant them eternal happiness and joy, give them from your many blessed food and your holy water, may they live in prosperity and harmony together with the rest of those who entered before them, Amen" Said Robert.

"Amen" Repeated Christopher.

"Father Patrick would be proud if he saw what you did today, you have fought bravely" Said Christopher.

"That is because you were with me in the battlefield, you were always the better fighter than I am and that gives me strength and courage to fight such as you, brother" Said Robert.

"Heh, come now, I will not remain that way forever, one day, I know you shall surpass me one day, and even if you do not, you do surpass my mind" Said Christopher.

"My mind is only filled of what father Patrick has told me, I do remember that when we were children, he used to teach me more while you were out of the church playing with other children" Said Robert, chuckling.

"Oh yes haha! I also remember that he would beat my hand with a stick if I misbehaved badly" Said Christopher "Here, you need it after today's battle" He said, giving the waterskin to Robert.

"Thank you, Christopher" Said Robert, taking the waterskin and drank it, at that time, came Charles with Grandmaster Odo.

"Christopher" Robert warned Christopher that Odo was coming their way and they knelt to him "Grandmaster" Said Robert.

"It's them Grandmaster, our glorious victory is owed to both Christopher and Robert, I have seen them fight and they killed the most Saracens out of all Templars" Said Charles.

"Well done, my brothers, you have performed very well today" Said Odo.

"Thank you, Grandmaster, but it was our lord who gave us the strength to fight, we are merely bodies of flesh" Said Christopher.

"May you use that strength to serve the order and all Christians faithfully, and may he grant you more in defeating his enemies" Said Odo, performing the Cross mark on both Christopher and Robert, then left.

"That was unnecessary Charles, we were all doing our part" Said Robert.

"But your parts however were deserving of praise, such prowess and power, it seemed as if the mere two of you were fighting the whole Saracen army on your own" Said Charles.

"As have you Charles, you acted tremendously while leading the Templars with Odo, I would say you were like the Grandmaster himself" Said Christopher.

"Well, one day, I hope to be" Said Charles, chuckling.

After nearly two hours of resting, the Crusaders suddenly could hear shouts coming from behind the mountain where the Muslims retreated to."God is great! God is great! God is great!"

They could hear the shouts becoming louder and louder, and as the voices grew, endless waves of Muslim soldier appeared, they charged at the Crusaders like the fierce lions on its preys, led by none other than their leader, Saladin.

"Protect the king! Form defensive lines! Ready the archers!" Said a commander in Baldwin's army.

"Look! The Saracens heathens have returned from hell in retaliation, but we shall send them back from whence they came, attack!" Shouted Odo, the Templars charged at the Muslims once more, only this time, the Muslims were more in numbers and better equipped, the Muslim cavalry readied their lances and pointed them, they pierced the Templars bodies, others blocked the attacks with their heater shields but the attacks were still strong enough to knock them off their mounts, then came the rest of the Muslims at them on horse and ground, while part of the Muslim army were keeping the Templars at bay, Saladin and the rest of his army charged at the Christian army, the Crusader archers loosened their arrows on Saladin's army to which some fell dead, but at the same time, the archers were being killed themselves by the Muslim archers who were firing from the mountains, and the Muslims were out of the reach for the Crusader army arrows, this gave the chance to Saladin and his army to attack, Saladin slayed one archer before his army followed, leaving decimated archers in their wake they fell victims to their scimitars and spears, then they moved to the main army, the crusaders held their shields at the incoming cavalry but were the line was trampled by the horses, now, truly the battle has began, the Templars and the Crusader army were fighting the overwhelming Muslim Army.

Christopher and Robert swung their swords left and right, slaying any Muslim that came near it, Islam charged through a line of Templars, he slashed their bodies on both his sides with his scimitar and they fell off their horses dead, he then set his eyes on a Templar that was doing the same to the Muslim Army, he charged at the Templar with full speed while shouting "God is great!.

Robert took notice of Islam that was riding to him and prepared himself, Islam came down slashing with his scimitar at Robert, which he blocked with his shield, he then held up his shield while facing Islam, Islam turned his horse to face Robert and readied his scimitar and round shield, than Islam both looked at each other for a few seconds before Islam charged at Robert, once again, he swung his sword at Robert, Robert blocked the attack then pushed Islam away with his shield, then the two entered in a strong sword clash, Islam attacked and parried, so did Robert, they were both very fast and agile, as if they could each other's movements, Christopher noticed the fight, but was too busy to aid Robert as more and more Muslims were coming his way, as for Baldwin, his army were being slayed and killed no matter where he looked, it was at this very moment, that he decided to participate in the battle, overlooking his leprosy condition, he unsheathed his sword and charged at the Muslims from the rank of the many lords and knights who were guarding him.

"King Baldwin has gone off to fight! Protect him at all costs!" Shouted Johan.

Saladin was personally fighting the Crusaders with his army, although being a sultan, he too wished to be martyred in battle, which inspired his army greatly to fight with him, which Baldwin took notice of, he spurred his horse and rode to Saladin, without him seeing the leper king charging at him, but before he got close, a Muslim lodged his spear at Baldwin's horse, causing Baldwin to fall down from it, with his horse dead and his sword thrown away, he was defenseless, the Muslim came at Baldwin with a spear, but was decapitated by Raymond before he could get too close.

"My lord, we must flee, the Saracens are striking hard and we have lost many men" Said Raymond, dismounting from his horse and going to Baldwin.

"Raymond...our army...save them" Muttered Baldwin while breathing heavily.

Raymond carried Baldwin on to his horse and mounted with him "All forces, fall back! Sound the retreat!" Said Raymond then rode away from the battlefield with king Baldwin, cutting a path though the Muslim army while doing so.

The horn was blown and the Crusaders started retreat, as did the Templars, Robert was still fighting Islam at that time, Christopher was slaying the Muslims on his end, with Charles, Reynald, Charles, and Odo, the Templars were covering the retreat of the main army of Baldwin.

Roland was caught within the weapons of the Muslim, he tried to fend off their attacks with all his strength, but was brought to his knees when a certain Muslim clashed sword and scimitar with him before bashing him with his shield and delivered a small cut to his left knee, as the Muslim raised his scimitar to decapitate him, he was blocked by Christopher's greatsword, he parried the attack and stabbed him in the chest, Christopher helped Roland up.

"Go Roland, protect the king and ensure he escapes the battlefield safely, we shall hold them back and give you enough time to retreat, go now!" Said Christopher, rushing to aid others Crusader, Roland stood in his place, in wonder of Christopher's action, gazing at the Templar who saved his life, then ran with the rest of the army.

Robert and Islam's fight was coming to an end, Robert blocked an attack coming from Islam and took a swing at his head, Islam dodged it and slashed Robert's left chest that left a wound, Robert groaned, dropped his sword and fell to the ground, Robert held his wound and tried to reach for his sword, but saw Islam's scimitar pointed directly at him.

"Enough, Christian, you have fought long and hard, yield now" Said Islam.

"Brother!" Shouted Christopher, seeing that Robert has fallen, he attempted to break free of the surrounding Muslim forces, but behind Islam, came Zaid, Nasir, Ali and Khaled with other reinforcements at them. 

Reynald, Charles, Christopher, and Odo, with the Templars, soon became surrounded, with other soldiers and knights, they attempted to fight more, but they were overpowered, Baldwin and his army escaped, while the Muslims attempted to go after them, Saladin halted their pursuit, the Muslims have won the battle.

"Soldiers of Allah, we have won this battle between righteousness and falsehood, we have been granted victory by the almighty lord, God is great! God is great! God is great!" Shouted Saladin, raising his sword in the air, and his army repeated after him.

The mountains of Marj Ayuun have been filled with the bodies of the Crusaders and the Muslims, the death toll of the Crusaders were higher than the Muslims, after the battle, the Muslims brought the prisoners to their knees in front of Saladin, they were all injured and bruised.

"How many soldiers have we lost today?" Asked Saladin.

"Three-thousand, my lord" Answered Imad al-Din.

"And of them?" Asked Saladin.

"Seven-thousand, my lord" Replied Imad.

"And the prisoners?" Asked Saladin.

"Over one-hundred" Said Imad.

Saladin stood in front of the prisoners and spoke "Fear not, no harm shall come to any of you from us, for that is not the purpose of why we are here, let it be known to all of you that the Muslims want nothing more than to worship live in the Holy Land peacefully, we do not want to shed your blood, nor rape your women, and enslave your children, for we see Jerusalem as a holy place that should not be torn by war and conflict, I hope that you all believe me when I tell you that I do not wish to take Jerusalem by force and drive you out of your homes, know that if Jerusalem were to fall to me, you shall all be welcomed to live inside it and be treated equally, I do hope that you consider my offer of peace".

"Be quiet you vile fiend, do not listen to him, his words are nothing but lies, do not let his sorcery bewitch you!" Shouted Reynald.

"Silence, heretic!" Bashir struck Reynald so hard, that he fell to his knees, spitting the blood out of his mouth.

"Shall we execute them all, Sultan?" Asked Bashir al-Walid.

Saladin took a look at all of the prisoners and thought for a moment "Cut them loose, have the physicians see to their wounds, then set them free" Said Saladin.

"But Sultan, we must show them that we are the stronger force, let this be a lesson to everyone who will oppose us!" Said Bashir.

"No, because we are not like them, we must show we are better than that, we have not come here to kill, Bashir, we have come for Jerusalem, only Jerusalem" Said Saladin, then left with his commanders, Bashir looked at the prisoners with hate before following Saladin. 

Soleim al-Razi, who was a teacher and a physician, tended to the wounds of the prisoners, so did other physicians with him, the Muslim army fed them food and water, Christopher and Robert were tied next to each other.

"Are you well, brother?" Asked Christopher, seeing the wound on Robert's shoulder.

"I'm all right, it is only a scratch" Said Robert.

"Where is Charles, what of the Reynald and the Grandmaster?" Said Christopher, looking around to find his fellow Templars.

"I know not" Said Robert.

Christopher then saw someone coming with a towel and a bowl of water to him and his brother, he was shorter and less muscular than Christopher, but was a bit taller than Robert, he knelt in front of both of them.

"Worry not, thankfully, the cut is not deep" Said Islam, he first took out his dagger and cut the ropes of Christopher and Robert, then drenched the towel into the bowl of water, he twisted it and placed it on Robert's wound, he groaned lightly.

"Forgive me that I was the cause of this, but it was the only way to make you surrender, there, I believe that your wound will heal over time" Said Islam, wrapping a bandage over Robert's shoulder.

Christopher looked at Islam with surprise, he never saw this kind side from the Muslims, he was certain they were to execute him immediately.

"You speak our language?" Asked Robert.

"Why do are you surprised? You can speak ours" Chuckled Islam.

"Thank you, sir...?" Said Robert.

"Islam, my name is Islam of Damascus" Said Islam with a smile.

"I am Robert of St. Albans, this is my brother, Christopher" Said Robert.

"Why do you not kill us, Islam? Why show an enemy kindness?" Asked Christopher.

"We may be at war, but we are all humans created by god, only our faiths and beliefs differ" Islam said a word in Arabian that translates "To God we belong, and to him we return".

Christopher and Robert looked to each other with confusion and widened eyes, Islam then offered them a bowl of dates "Here, have these, these are called dates, taken from our palm trees" Said Islam.

Christopher and Robert took a piece and ate it "They are delicious" Said Robert, taking more from the bowl.

 

Of all the years he'd been eating bread and fish in Jerusalem, Christopher had never came at such a delicacy, he also took others and ate them with Robert.

Then Khaled walked to Islam "Islam, we will release the prisoners now" He said.

"Very well" Said Islam, getting up, then helped Christopher and Robert on their feet "You are free to go".

Christopher and Robert looked to each other for seconds before turning their eyes to Islam, who gave them an honest smile, Christopher lowered his head and left without saying a word, but Robert bowed to Islam before leaving "Thank You Islam, I shall not forget the kindness you showed us, you have my word that I will repay it".

"Peace be upon you" Said Islam.

"And upon you as well" Said Robert, Robert bowed once more and smiled before left.

The Muslims gave the Crusaders their horses, and also offered them horses to those who have lost them in the battle, they made their way to Beaufort castle, where the Crusaders have previously retreated to.

"Charles! I am relieved to see you alive and well" Said Robert.

"And you Christopher" Said Charles.

"How is the Grandmaster and Reynald and the rest?" Asked Christopher.

"All of them are well, thank the lord, I can't believe It'd come for me to say this, but some would've been in great pain if not for the Muslims" Said Charles.

"I do not understand it, even though they could've beheaded us all, and yet they show compassion" Said Christopher.

" I suppose they are not as barbaric as we have heard" Said Charles.

"God, help us bring an end to this suffering and pain and bring peace to all..." Robert whispered in prayer.


End file.
